Using Color to Enhance or Detract from Facial Features

How do you enhance or detract from your clients facial features with color?

A. âIt all starts with the consultation,â says Marco Pelusi, veteran colorist and owner of the Marco Pelusi Studio in West Hollywood, California. âListen to what your client wants while looking at her face and taking into account all of the factors youâll use to choose the colors and the technique to flatter the face.â

Skin tone and facial features are the two most important things to ascertain, he says. For example, if a client wants blonde you need to decide if she is warm or cool. If she has icy blue eyes, youâll want to pick cooler shades. If her eyes are a golden brown, warmer tones are the way to go. When it comes to facial features, you may need to keep your observations to yourself. For instance, if your client has a larger nose youâll want to soften the color around the face.

âNine times out of ten you only need to focus color around the face,â advises Pelusi. âI prefer to use a bricklaying technique starting at the crown and working through the bang area, as opposed to just a solid row of foils.â If you want to attract attention to facial features, slice your foils or lighten the colors in the foil for a stronger effect. To detract attention from certain features, weaving lowlights in deeper tones is a worthy technique.

To make it easy, just remember, slices and strong highlights to enhance and weaves and soft lowlights to detract.